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Equitable Human Capital Is a Top Priority for Kazakhstan
NUR-SULTAN, April 29, 2021 – The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected Kazakhstan’s progress in strengthening human capital, warned experts during a virtual roundtable this week organized by the World Bank and the Agency for Strategic Planning and Reforms under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The discussion aimed to facilitate a holistic and equity-oriented policy dialogue for informing investments and strategic plans to boost skills and productivity in the country.
Human capital is the knowledge, skills, and health that people accumulate throughout their lives, which enable them to realize their potential as productive members of the society. From 2017, the World Bank has led on a global effort on the human capital development to accelerate more and better investments in people for greater equity and economic growth.
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Subdued Recovery Expected in Western Balkans, Following Historic Recession, Says New World Bank Report
Growth in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia – the six countries of the Western Balkans – is expected to return in 2021, in the wake of the region’s worst economic downturn on record during 2020. Following the economic devastation brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic that resulted in an estimated contraction of growth in the region of 3.4 percent last year, the Western Balkans region is expected to grow by 4.4 percent in 2021. Going forward, growth is expected to moderate to 3.7 in 2022 and 2023, with lingering damage from the pandemic continuing to depress investments and employment in the region.
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Innovative Restoration Plans for Aral Sea Region Announced at Global Disruptive Tech Challenge 2021
From flowering tree plantations that will grow a beekeeping industry to women-centered training in natural resource management to the restoration of salt-dried landscapes – these are some of the disruptive innovations that won the grand prize in the Global Disruptive Tech Challenge 2021: Restoring Landscapes in the Aral Sea Region.
The four grand prize winners were announced today during a virtual ceremony hosted by the World Bank, in partnership with the Global Landscapes Forum (GLF), the Kazakh-German University (DKU), and Plug and Play (P&P).
A total of 159 proposals were submitted to the competition from 28 countries across five continents, with more than half of the proposals from Central Asian countries. A distinguished panel of 42 experts from the World Bank and partner organizations from across the globe evaluated the submissions and nominated 24 leading project
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KUWAIT CITY, MARCH 16: The World Bank Kuwait Office in partnership with British Embassy and CEFAS hosted a virtual seminar on Economic Diversification for a Sustainable and Resilient Kuwait, with distinguished panelists representing GS-SCPD, KFAS, KAPP and moderated by KISR. Kuwait has sustained one of the world’s highest rates of economic growth due to abundance of natural resources, particularly oil and gas reserves, which it has converted into some level of diversified trade and investments.In recognition of the environmental risks that such rapid growth could pose, the Government of Kuwait (GoK) has undertaken a number of important steps notably the Kuwait National Development Plan (NDP), passing of new environment protection law in 2014 and many more initiatives.